What’s India’s Share in Global Trade?

India’s performance in World trade based on the WTO database which provides the data calendar year-wise is given shows that India’s share in global trade is a pittance at 1.6%, said Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a reply to a parliament question on Monday.

In 2015, India’s share in merchandise exports stood at 1.6%, commercial exports at 3.3% and merchandise and services together is just 2%, said the minister.

India’s Trade Performance: Percentage Share in World Trade

Years

India’s Share

in World

Merchandise Exports

India’s Share

in World Commercial Services Exports

India’s Share

in World Merchandise Plus Services Exports

2011

1.7

3.2

1.9

2012

1.6

3.2

1.9

2013

1.7

3.1

2.0

2014

1.7

3.1

2.0

2015

1.6

3.3

2.0

Here is the table:

Source: World Trade Organization

However, the minsiter said the Government has launched several schemes and measures to increase India’s share in global trade, such as:

(i) The Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) was introduced in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 on April 1, 2015 with 4914 tariff lines at 8 digit levels. The Government has extended the market coverage to all countries in respect of 7914 tariff lines. The revenue forgone under the scheme (MEIS) has increased from Rs. 22000 Crore to Rs. 23500 Crore per annum.

(ii) The Government launched Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) in the FTP 2015-2020. The Scheme provided rewards to service providers of notified services who are providing service from India.

(iii) The Government is implementing the Niryat Bandhu Scheme with an objective to reach out to the new and potential exporters including exporters from Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and mentor them through orientation programmes, counseling sessions, individual facilitation, etc., on various aspects of foreign trade for being able to get into international trade and boost exports from India.

(iv) By way of trade facilitation and enhancing the ease of doing business, Government reduced the number of mandatory documents required for exports and imports to three each, which is comparable with international benchmarks. The trade community can file applications online for various trade related schemes. Online payment of application fees through Credit/Debit cards and electronic funds transfer from 53 Banks has been put in place.